The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-08-17
CAUSE OF THE GREAT WRECK
Trying to Locate the Responsibility for
the Slaughter Near ChatsWorth.
8 tributable to Carelessness and Stupidity
of the Men in Charge of the Track


CHATswoRTH, ILL.,. Aug 16-Disobedence
and obtuseness were primary causes of the
slaughter at Daviss crossing on Thursday morn
ing. Had section foreman Coughlin obeyed the
spirit of the letter Of instructions ne received
from his superior officer. and had come of the
men, one Of them in particular, who saw
lights the railroad track hour after
hour on Wednesday night exerted themselves
20 the extent of two-mile ride a hand-car.
the catastrophe which has Mortified the civilized
world would never have occurred. These were
the primary facts developed by the coroners
jury. which. for seven long hours to-day, exam
ined witness after witness in Its endeavor to Sc
cure some light regarding the causes which led
to the disaster The inquiry took
place in the public school building, and
here the farmer jury delved for
facts and ELECTED details in style which
would have been creditable IN a jury composed
OF experienced members of the bar. large
number of witnesses testified. Several residents
of Piper City saw light burning on the rail
road track toward Charsworth, the night of
the accident, but made efforts to investigate
the cause. Some of them thought it was the
headlight OF locomotive.
Joseph Morris, farmer living half mile
south of the culvert, swore that he two or
three of the section men firing the grass in close
proximity to the bridge. just before dark on
Wednesday afternoon. After dark he saw
blaze in that direction big enough to make him
think that a building fire.
This testimony corroborated by other
farmers, and is in contradiction to the testimony
of boss Coughn which was to the effect that
no fires had been lighted near the bridge.
After the witnesses were dismissed the jury
L -
bring the inquiry to a close tomorrow. It is
likely a verdict will be reached by noon
The Railway Boards Inquiry.
PEORIA. Aug. 16-The Illinois State Board of
Railroad and Warehouse Commissioners arrived
in the city this morning and resumed the in
quiry begun at Chatsworth last week, into
Wednesday nights disaster on the Toledo.
Peoria & Western railroad. Mr.. Armstrong,
superintendent of the road who had already
been examined recalled and was the first
witness Five minutes after the accident. he
said. he examined the bridge and found the
piling and caps almost intact. strong enough,
il fact, he thought. to have laid
stringings them for temporary bridge.
The bridge pile bent bridge fifteen feet
long, and had been reported in good condition by
the bridge inspector May IA when he made
lQepeCtlOn
Armstrong exhibited copies of orders which were
sent out by telegraph Tuesday, the 9th, the
day before the wreck, the first to the roadmas-
ter, as follows:
To G. Ennis--Have your run over their entire
sections tomorrow afternoon the last thing before
quitting time and see that the bridges in dan
ger of fire. f.. N. ARMSTRONG.
And the following was sent out to the agents:
To All Agents East, Including Blind Stations-Last
thing you do before going home tomorrow [Wednes
day night, be sure your switches are set for the
set. j. o. MASON.
Mr.. Mason is the train dispatcher Mr. Arm
strong could only at the speed of the
excursion train, but he thought it thirty or
thirty five miles per hour. They en-
deavoring to make up time He had talked
and told them 1t was not necessary; that
there was plenty of time in which to
get to Niagara Falls. The witness be-
1ieved that it safer to run the excursion
train in section of fifteen cars, with two
locomotives, than IN two sections, because in
the latter case there was danger of a end
collision, else, if the front section were
wrecked. of the rear section running into it.
It would be safe to engines together
over a bridge properly constructed.
Beriah Warren, master mechanic of the Toledo,
Peoria & Western, was sworn and testified that
he had been in the business twenty-five years
on several roads. He considered the train n
condition for trip of that kind He
would consider train of fifteen passenger
coaches perfectly safe. The witness described |
the geography of the wreck he found it.
Four of the cars were packed one above another,
and almost confined in the space of one, so COM
pletely and closely had thev been telescoped, |
and the height of the wreck did not exceed nine
or ten feet. He could not say how recently the |
right of way had been burned.
j. II. Markley. master of bridges and buildings,
examined the burned bridge on May "a, and found |
it in frss-class condition; he had rebuilt it in |
May of the previous year. The bridge burned |
was heavier than those on the other roads the |
witness had worked on. The strneers were OF |
standard material and dimensions.
A Ennis. roadmaster of the Toledo, Peoria e |
Western. on the eastern DIVISION was of the |
opinion that the bridge was set fire, because |
on the south side of the bridge the right of way |
had been burned out three weeks ago. and |
there were signs of the fire the north side.
Then, the fire that burned the bridge did not |
extend any further He did not think that |
the bridge could have been set on fire from |
sparks from the locomotive of the freight train.
Timothy Coughlin. section foreman for the |
Toledo, Peoria & Western at Chatswortn, testi- |
fed that he got his order to go the section. |
and started over with his mon &c the end |
between 2:30 and 3 o'clock Wednesday afternoon,
south side of the track from the east
and westward, the last one being the distance of |
three or four telegraph poles east of the burned
bridge. eand this about $50 o'clock.
While it was being done the witness stood on the
bridge and looked at it. He saw nothing out Of
The way. The right of way from the line west to
Chatsworth on the south side had been burned
out q week. or so previously. and all the
grass under the bridge, and eight or nine feet
around it had been cut and and shoveled away
and burned up. The patch the bridge,
which WAS burned Wednesday afternoon, was in
sort of cut which had not been touched when
The former burning out had taken place, and the
ire had been put out or had gone out, the wit
,ess thought, whom his men and himself went
away.
The Wounded at Peoria.
special to the indianapolis Journal.
PEORIA, Ill, Aug. 16. Some Of the Peoria
not doing well as they a
lay two ago. and it is not improbable that
he death-list from here may be swelled at almost
my time Mrs. Walters. who was not thought,